Legendary (5 page)

Grateful, but still wary of the Elf, Aliana showed him her map. He glanced at it briefly.

“We are close to the path, but we must move swiftly. These woods become more dangerous as the day goes on.” He turned and started walking.

Aliana looked at the Pegasus, then quickly caught up to her guide. “What were those things? And how did you show up at just the right time?”

“Red Wind forest is one of our territories, our home. We Elves keep watch and protect all the creatures of the forest from those filthy Goblins, the Sidhe, and all others who would seek to do harm.”

“Wait, you said Goblins, as in the short, mischievous, creepy-bad-magic kind of creatures that love to hoard gold?”

The Elf gave her a lopsided smile. “I have never heard them described in such a manner before, but yes, those are the creatures I am referring to. But they are not like the stories you humans tell. They are dangerous and deadly creatures. Their lust for magic and gold is what drives them.” The Elf’s face turned dark and angry. “They will swear fealty to whoever will give them what they desire. They swore allegiance to dark magic during the great battle of Avalon.” Amazed, Aliana paid rapt attention. “They remain loyal to it to this day. Far too many times the Goblins and others have killed the animals to use in their magic rites.”

“That’s horrible!” Aliana gasped, looking at her Pegasus friend, who was still beside her. Gently, she rubbed the soft neck.

The Elf regarded Aliana out of the corner of his eye. “The Pegasus possesses great magic not unlike the Unicorns. Take the magic of a Pegasus, and you gain their ability to fly and run at incredible speeds.”

“No way! I’m glad those Goblins didn’t get her.” Aliana sighed, remembering the foxy creature from earlier. She opened her mouth to ask about it, but the Elf interrupted her.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Aliana Fagan, and I’m sorry again for wandering into your forest, but I’m glad I got to meet this Pegasus.” Gazing sideways at the Elf, she watched for any sign of recognition. If the Lady of the Lake was right, others in Avalon must know who she was. But if the Elf had heard of her, he gave no sign.

He stopped walking, and using his longbow, he pushed aside a tall bush, revealing Aliana’s path.

She smiled. Turning to the Pegasus, she stroked her nose before kissing the creature goodbye. “Stay away from those Goblins.” The Pegasus snorted before nudging its head against her.

The Elf offered his hand to Aliana, helping her step over the thick roots of the bush and onto the path before following.

“You never told me your name,” Aliana said. “I’d like to thank the person who helped me.”

“I am correct in assuming you are the Destined One, am I not, Aliana Fagan?”

Aliana nodded, unsure what he would do.

“Your coming has been foretold for many centuries. We’ve been expecting you. Elves are on the side of good and light. To have the world consumed by darkness would destroy us.”

Aliana let out the breath she was holding and smiled at him.

“My name is J’alel. I will tell my people of your arrival. The Elves will stand beside the king again when he calls us. But heed my warning—do not stray from this path again or its protection will be lost to you. There are few of us who patrol these woods and many creatures that would seek to stop you from fulfilling the prophecy.”

Assuring J’alel that she wouldn’t leave the path again, she smiled and said goodbye. The Elf stepped back into the forest, and Aliana headed down the path, pulling out her map. Her red star was back, and she was surprised and delighted to find that she was only twenty yards or so from reaching the end of the forest path. “Hell of a detour.”

J’alel’s warnings were heavy in her mind as she stowed the book and her camera into her pack and jogged toward the forest’s edge. She wasn’t going to let herself get distracted again, no matter what. The sun was high in the sky, but beyond the midpoint which meant it was past noon, and she was behind schedule. Finally, she entered the Valley of the Sidhe. The map showed that her destination was just over the next hill. Scaling the mound, she took in the sight of the ruined keep. It was covered with char marks and dead vines. Large piles of rubble still lay where they had fallen during battle. She looked around to see if anyone was keeping watch, but she saw no living thing.

“Creepy and probably not a good sign,” Aliana mumbled. She saw the remains of a wall just a few yards away to her right. “Guess that’s as good a place as any to stow my pack while I free
Magic and Loyalty.
” Moving aside a chunk of stone, she hid her things in a small gap before rearranging the stone the way it had been.

As quietly as possible, she crept closer to the rounded wall of the tower, making sure to stay low. She examined the burn marks running along the jagged stone wall of the structure. Clearly the keep had been attacked by fire, but what had thrown it? Flying horses, Unicorns, Goblins, and cute-then-creepy fox-like creatures existed here. Who was to say a Dragon hadn’t done that damage?

“You don’t have time for this,” she told herself. But her curiosity was too great. Her camera was still in her pack, so she pulled out her phone instead and took a few pictures of the marred stone so she could study it later when she was home.

She sobered at the thought.
I have to get home first, and to do that I need to stop getting distracted!
With renewed purpose, she moved toward the front of the keep, counting her blessings that she had yet to find any real threats. As she rounded the front of the tower, she came upon a large, open courtyard rimmed with stone slabs of various sizes. Each one was held up by chunks of rock. Some of the stones bore scorch marks similar to the ones on the keep, and others were covered with tiny trails of brown. In the center of the courtyard was a stone altar large enough that a person could lie atop its surface. But, unlike the keep, all of these stacked stones were smooth and polished, like marble. There were nine slabs altogether, each one with engravings that Aliana didn’t recognize. The slab at the center didn’t seem to fit with the others. It was almost completely covered with reddish-brown stains. Looking closer, she saw that some of whatever it was that had made those stains had run over to trickle in thin lines down several of the supporting stones.

Oh boy,
Aliana thought. Like with other ruins she had seen on digs with her father, this altar was probably the most important thing to those who inhabited the place. Still not seeing any sign of life, she left the shelter of the wall, carefully making her way closer to the outer rim of the courtyard. From there she could see the arched entrance to the keep. It was flanked by short walls.

To get inside she would have to walk right out into the open where anything keeping watch would easily discover her. She hunched, crawling under one of the stone tables to hide while she figured out her next move.

It was then that she saw it—poking out from beneath a bench that had been turned onto its side was a leg! It was burnt orange in color with black splotches, the tattered remains of what appeared to be an animal-skin boot partially covering it.

Cold shivers shot down Aliana’s spine as she crawled oh-so-carefully across the dry grass to get a better glimpse. Peeking around the upturned stone, Aliana found a sleeping monster with greasy black hair and a grotesque body covered by a tattered animal-skin shirt and pants that Tarzan would have been proud of.

She wanted to scream and run but quickly covered her mouth before she could. Her chest tightened as she tried to breathe past her cold terror, but she couldn’t manage more than a hyperventilating gasp. This horrible monster must be the Sidhe that Deidre had warned her about.

Its body was bulky like that of an out-of-shape quarterback. His harsh face bore a wide, flat nose and a cruel mouth filled with pointed teeth. He had big arms with large hands tipped by pointed nails that were stained black like the spots covering its whole body. Lying just inches from the sausage-like hand was a twisted dagger tipped with dried blood.

She tried to back away, but lost her balance, falling flat onto her backside. Scrambling backward, she collided with a large stone. Eyes wide, she scanned the area, praying that there weren’t any other beasts around, but her luck seemed to have run out. It was as if her eyes had been covered with a film before, blinding her to the presence of the Sidhe. Now she saw that there wasn’t just one—there were a dozen other bodies poking out from behind the scattered stones.

Biting her lips to keep from screaming, she scrambled to her feet, frantically looking toward the keep’s entrance. There were no Sidhe bodies blocking her way.
Thank God!
In her panic, she wanted to make a mad dash for the pointed archway, but she forced herself to take a deep breath and move carefully and quietly through the courtyard to avoid waking the monsters.

Finally making it to the planked entryway, she glanced back at the courtyard. None of them had awoken, but she couldn’t help thinking,
It’ll be a miracle if I get out of this alive.

3

Hidden from her sight, I watch the girl. Is it really true—this common, mortal girl is the one who will restore the Golden King? I am not sure she will even survive the Sidhe. The Pegasus, still by my side, huffs at me, pawing its hooves. Clearly the creature disagrees with me. We will have to wait and see.
~~J’alel

ALIANA G
LANCED
A
ROUND
the inside of the keep, not surprised that it was as damaged as the outside. Piles of small rocks and dust littered the stone floor. A set of stairs wound up and around a thick pillar in the middle. The large, curved room was bare of furnishings and decorations save the torches lining its walls.

As she circled the stairs, she saw that not only were there steps leading upward, another set also descended. The outer edges of both sets of the winding stairs were crumbled and cracked, as if some kind of railing had been violently torn away.

“Somehow going up seems like a bad idea,” she whispered, hoping the sound of her voice could help brush aside the dead air and calm her racing heart.

The light from the torches only penetrated so far through the gloom of the wide lower stairs. They looked stable enough, but the darkness had panic rising in her chest again. She imagined the walls closing her in, trying to trap her below in the dark forever. Shivering, she decided to risk the upper stairs.

Slowly climbing several steps, she kept as close to the inside edge as she could, avoiding the cracked stone pieces. On the last few steps, the stones had started to scrape and shift against each other. Heart in her throat, she climbed to the next step. The one behind her crumbled away, leaving only a stump of stone attached to the pillar. Gently, she tapped the next step with her foot. Nothing happened, so she stepped onto it, and just as she did, it disintegrated. Throwing out her hands, she just barely caught the edge of the next step and dangled above the floor twelve feet below her.

With all the strength she could muster, she tried to pull herself up, but she felt her grip slip. Struggling to hold on, she heard another crack sound from under her fingers and her heart shook. But she couldn’t let her fear rule her. From this distance, she could hit the ground without getting hurt
too
badly, but once there, she’d have to be quick to get away from any crumbling stones that might rain down.

Letting go of the step, she held her breath and bent her legs, bracing for impact with the floor. She hit the ground harder than she had expected, and the air rushed from her lungs. Her legs buckled, her foot rolling over a small chunk of littered stone. Using her momentum, she tucked her body and rolled to the side. Rough stone scratched against her arm. Her abused hands grabbed at the floor as she rose to her knees, bracing her feet against the ground.

“Son of a biscuit.” Looking around, she expected to see the Sidhe surrounding her, awakened by the sound of her fall, but none came.

Panting, she glanced up to where she had been. Too many steps had fallen away and there was no way she was going to be able to go up now. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her shaking hand, breathing through the adrenaline rush. Her palms and fingers were red and raw. Dust and dirt covered her arms, and a thin stream of blood trickled past her elbow.

Untying her cotton scarf, she dabbed at the blood. The cut wasn’t deep, but it was long. She hissed as she pressed the cloth against the cut but gritted her teeth and wrapped the wound tight. Then she pushed up from the floor, grabbing her cell, grateful it hadn’t been damaged when it had slid from her pocket after the fall.

“Guess the only choice now is down.” Shoring up her courage, she turned on the flashlight app and carefully made her way down the first few steps.

The light from her cell phone lit the narrow stairwell enough for her to see a landing and a door a few steps below. Thankful to have made it safely down the first flight of stairs, she stepped onto the landing and held up her light, studying the heavy, chipped wooden door. Gripping its rusted brass handle, Aliana tried twisting, but it wouldn’t give way. She pushed at the door, then pulled, but it refused to open.